Except for his few “Greatest Hits” (those being the “Wedding March” from A Midsummer Night’s Dream; the Violin Concerto; and the Italian Symphony), I think that Felix Mendelssohn is an often-overlooked or often-underrated composer. Further, given the rarely-equaled felicity (I should be re-programmed) of his solo-piano music, perhaps then it is not surprising that Mendelssohn’s string quartets remain, for many music lovers, undiscovered gems.

The Boston-based Parker Quartet has a name that is new to me, but, it should not have been. Their recording of Ligeti’s first and second quartets received the 2011 Grammy award for Best Chamber Music Performance, and they are the Blodgett Artists in Residence of Harvard University’s Department Of Music. UK’s legendary Nimbus imprint has just released the Parker Quartet’s CD of two of Mendelssohn’s Op. 44 quartets, the first and third. What lovely music making! (I also love that the cover image is of four of Charles and Ray Eames’ fiberglass “scoop” chairs, which are icons of Mid-Century Modern design.)

The Parker Quartet’s brisk playing seems spontaneous, but their carefully-calibrated dynamics (especially at the quieter end of the spectrum) and tight ensemble suggest that much rehearsal time was invested in the enterprise!

The Op. 44 quartets are both youthful and serene–they are the polar opposites to Shostakovich’s quartets in terms of feeling-tone. Says violinist Daniel Chong:

For the Quartet, this music is enormously refreshing. There is no other composer who can channel the inner,
youthful soul in all of us as well as Felix Mendelssohn. In his hands music can be pure joy and can capture
the spirit of life with such an irresistible energy, that one cannot help but share it with others.

If your music collection includes string quartets by Haydn, Mozart, Beethoven, or Schubert but not Mendelssohn, I cannot think of a better way to remedy that state of affairs than buying this CD (or listening to the music via Tidal streaming). As one would expect from Nimbus, the recorded sound is superb. The recording venue was Mechanics Hall in Worcester, Massachusetts, which is a fabulous venue; dare I say it, for some music, even better than Boston’s Symphony Hall. Most highly recommended.